The Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice (EBP) in Nursing and Healthcare funded six awards in 2021.

The funding was awarded to James Dilleshaw, BSN, RN, DNP candidate, of the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing; Jiale Hu, PhD, RN, of Virginia Commonwealth University; Letha M. Joseph, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, of the Community Living Center Durham, VA Healthcare System; Kerry King, MSN, RN, OCN®, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Tiffany Messerall, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB, of OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and Lindsey Patton, MSN, APRN, PCNS-BC 1, of Texas Christian University and Children’s Health System of Texas for EBP initiatives and research projects.

Dilleshaw was awarded approximately $1,000 for his EBP initiative titled, “A Shared Decision-making (SDM) Program for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes at a Free Medical Clinic.” A SDM program will help patients in selecting medication for their type II diabetes or assist in initiating statin therapy as recommended. Dilleshaw and his team hope to successfully implement and sustain use of a SDM program and develop a standardized process for SDM that will become a permanent part of care delivery at the clinic.

“This opportunity will greatly assist us in obtaining the necessary tools and developing a standardized process for shared decision-making that will become a sustained and permanent part of the care delivery process at the clinic,” said Dilleshaw.

Hu received $5,000 for his research project titled, “A mixed methods study to investigate nurse anesthetists’ and anesthesiologists’ implementation of crisis resource management.” This research project is to help understand nurse anesthetists’ and anesthesiologists’ implementation of crisis resource management (CRM) principles in clinical settings, to identify anesthesia professionals’ perceptions of barriers and encourage facilitators to the use of CRM principles in practice.

“I hope to shift the traditional paradigm that relies solely on educational interventions as the means to advancing CRM competencies in anesthesia professionals,” said Hu. “I believe the research project will contribute valuable knowledge to the implementation of crisis resource management principles in anesthesia practice. I appreciate the support to make it happen.”

Joseph received $2,500 for her EBP initiative titled, “Interprofessional, Multimodal Pain Management in the Durham Veterans Affairs Community Living Center.” This project aims to reduce pain severity and improve functional status and health-related quality of life while reducing opioid use in veterans with chronic pain. The funding will support additional training for the interprofessional team on complementary modalities and cover the partial cost of equipment and supplies for delivering the interventions.

“This opportunity from the Fuld Institute for EBP allows a comprehensive interprofessional team to utilize evidence-based practices to tackle a critical problem of complex pain needs in veterans receiving rehabilitation and skilled nursing care,” said Joseph.

King received approximately $2,500 for her EBP initiative titled, “Ultrasound Guided Peripheral IV Education.” This EBP initiative will implement ultrasound guided IV use throughout Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a best practice. Outcomes will be measured on irritants and vesicant extravasations against the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI), number of peripheral IV attempts, number of successful ultrasound guided peripheral IV insertions and the overall use of central venous catheters (CVCs).

“This funding allows Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center nurses to not only improve patient outcomes but improve our patient experience through evidence-based care,” said King.

Messerall received nearly $2,500 for her EBP initiative titled, “The Green Dot Project: An Evidence-based Quality Improvement Initiative for Increased Identification of Human Trafficking in the Health Care Setting.” The Green Dot Project will help establish universal screening for human trafficking and offer a safe haven with the opportunity to self-report. The program will establish a trauma-informed training program for frontline clinicians and minimize the time barrier for screening reported by healthcare personnel.

“Being selected as a recipient by the Fuld Institute for EBP allows our team to improve the health of those we serve by bringing trauma informed practices to the bedside for enhanced identification of patients being exploited through human trafficking,” said Messerall.

Patton was awarded almost $5,000 for her research project titled, “Adoption and Sustainment of Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Bundle in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: An Implementation Science Formative Evaluation.” This research will conduct a mixed methods study for the formative evaluation of implementation strategies for the adoption and sustainment of the central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) bundle. This will help create a comprehensive picture of the implementation strategies that encourage adoption and sustainment of the CLABSI bundle. This work will also further advance the culture of clinical inquiry among nurses within the PICU and throughout the healthcare organization.

“This opportunity will provide our team with the ability to study implementation strategies that influence how nurses adopt and sustain a central line associated blood stream infection bundle in a pediatric intensive care unit,” said Patton. “Better understanding of how research is translated and implemented into practice will help improve evidence-based nursing care.”

The Fuld National Institute acknowledges and thanks the review committee members, led by Dr. Sharon Tucker, for their time and expertise.